Top 10 ways to get personal with your customers

You know you need to reach out and get personal with your customers but aren’t really sure you want your photo splashed all over the internet.

You decide you want to get some good, friendly icons of a business woman or man to put on your social media and website, but they are all, well, not really ‘you’? How frustrating is that!

We’ve all seen what’s on offer; black and white silhouettes in ‘business poses’, ugly cartoons, pushy sales photos and really staged shots of ‘your office’ (yeah!) full of beautiful actors in business suits… (shudder), or my personal non-favourites, blob blokes!

…are YOUR customers really going to relate to these sort of images on your website or as part of your social media reach-out?

Now, with the best will in the world, I happen to be brilliant, talented and lovely (large pinch of salt required here) but not beautiful – I’m 50, heavier than I should be, I work from home in the heart of rural Suffolk and my customers know this.

I’m sure this experience resonates with a few of you (…I’m referring to the being brilliant, talented and lovely bit of course!)

The cornerstones of all great businesses are relationships, communication and trust. Letting customers, and potential customers get to know you through your blogs and posts; sharing in your jokes, offering advice and replying to queries are all personalised essentials of 21st century life, so why are we so general when it comes to our image?

So here are my top 10 ways to get personal with your customers

Would you buy from a complete stranger? Probably not. People like to buy from people they know, like and trust so it really helps to include a photograph or an image.

When you think about a person you get an instant mind picture of them. Try it… think of someone you know – do you see a mind picture of them smiling back at you? Now try thinking of someone who you deal with but have never actually seen. Who would you prefer to do business with?

You can make customers feel special and important by interacting with them on social media. However, seeing the same image over and over again whenever you appear is going to get a little stale after a while, however interesting your posts and promotions are, so vary your images.

You can create business opportunities by visually ‘popping’ into the mind of potential customers. They might not have ever dealt with you before, but if they can picture you in their mind’s eye, they will already feel they know you…and that means you are half way there already!

In real life, if you are talking about a great new idea, you look excited; if you are offering mentoring and advice you need to look welcoming, so make sure your image fits your message.

Be consistent not boring! You are unique… you have a certain skin tone, eye colour, hair colour and style – that’s just how you are, but don’t forget that you do change your clothes, shoes and posture in real life! Don’t be static – show your customers you live in the real world like they do.

Steer away from the nameless, faceless, silhouette and blob type icons – they are so impersonal! Is that really how you want your customers to think of you?

Do you talk about other people in your posts and emails? Your customers may know what you look like, but what about Jane in the office, Peter in sales and Sue, your friend who’s insights are so brilliant you mention her a lot? People like to work with people they feel they know – so create a community of faces for your customers to relate to.

Don’t spend a fortune on getting your images – you really don’t need to. Check out this video link and see how easy it can be to put yourself into your own social media and print with no royalties to pay or copyright issues

10. Be true to yourself, be yourself and share your offerings with the world!